Nature of occupational mobility of the tribals in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha from agriculture to non-agriculture sectors

The tribal people as the dwellers of hills and forests have unproductive and uneconomic holdings, lack of irrigation facilities, traditional skills and primitive implements along with land alienation indebtedness. Their economy revolving around hunting, collecting, shifting cultivation and plough work. Due to lack of sufficient scope for livelihood and deterioration of natural resources on which the tribal people depend much for their hereditary occupation, they migrate to other occupations or other places in search of job. The present study was carried out with the objectives to analyse the nature of the occupational mobility from the agriculture to non-agricultural activities. The study was conducted in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha purposefully in which the tribals occupy 58.72 % of the total population. Four blocks were selected randomly each one from four sub divisions. Fifteen tribal people were selected from each village as respondents randomly from twelve villages, three from each block totaling to sample size of 180. The result showed that majority (72.22 %) of the respondents had crop production as their primary traditional hereditary as well as farming (35.0%) as their primary occupation. On the basis of the study it is suggested that literacy level should be enhanced among the tribal people to increase their efficiency and better understanding of the scientific agriculture which can be implemented for checking mobility of the tribal people from agriculture to non-agriculture sector. There should be more investment and creation of employment opportunity in agriculture sector to make it more remunerative which will also develop more number of entrepreneurs among tribal people.